- Come with me to Lander, Wyo. to meet Bill, Lee and Barb. They were supposed to be retired from the Forest Service. But they're back as volunteers — driving 100s of miles a week, cleaning 5 bathrooms a day — determined to protect forests Trump abandoned. wapo.st/4r4727z
- Bill Lee is 73. He drives through the Shoshone National Forest 2x a week, scanning for what's broken. He keeps track in a notebook. Each repair forces a decision. If he fixes it, the Trump administration can better justify its cuts to staff. If he doesn't, people could get hurt.
- Del Nelson is 81. This summer marked his 50th living in a Forest Service cabin by Louis Lake, this time as a volunteer. For $50 a day, he cleaned five bathrooms daily, using exactly one piece of paper towel per set of bathrooms, to save supplies after Trump slashed the budget.
- Barb Gustin is 69. After Trump cut staff, the Forest Service office she manned for 20 years closed — so she came back to keep it open. But because she was a volunteer, she couldn't sell anything. People walking in had to order the maps and supplies they could see in store online.Nov 24, 2025 15:32
- Please read this story, which wouldn't exist w/o our brilliant @washingtonpost.com team: Matt McClain Kelley French @mikemadden.bsky.social @kamaria.bsky.social @hannahdormido.bsky.social @maureenlinke.bsky.social Andrew Braford Tyler Remmel Christian Font Jeremy Hester @johnwoodrowcox.bsky.social
